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Thursday, September 6, 2012

diy nightstand

this old stool had been sitting in my basement since we moved in three years ago. it was just awkward sitting alone anywhere and to be honest, i hated the color and the finish. it's solid wood, but that shiny honey oak just wasn't doing it for me.

i saw this idea on pinterest (surprise, surprise) to turn your old bar stool into a night stand. perfect! we needed an extra night stand in our newly updated room and i'm not all into the matchy, matchy so this was a perfect idea since we only had the one stool. (don't ask me how that happened.)

a piece of plywood that leshia's husband cut into a circle for me--we measured the top of the stool and went 2" out on each side

i put two coats of the stain on the stool and it was still a bit light for me, so i added a coat of minwax provincial, too. it darkened it up nicely, but by itself i think it would have been too red. i like to use a rag for projects like this instead of a brush. sometimes brushes apply the stain too thick and leave runs in places you can't see.

after i let that dry, i painted the top with a coat of a satin paint. sorry, i'm not sure of the name of it. it was just something we had down in the basement. i wasn't happy with the finish...it still looked a little "undone", so i sanded the edges and rubbed stain where i sanded to distress it a bit. after that dried, i applied two coats of polyurethane to seal it from any wear and tear.

here's the finished product. i do love it!

oh, and i attached the top to the stool with a nail. can't see it a bit, now. you could also use glue or epoxy of some kind.